vrijdag 10 april 2009

Manga time: Afuganisu-tan, by Timaking

In the 26-part sociopolitical manga series, Middle Eastern countries are represented by female characters with personality traits resemblant of each location.

“We meet needy Pakisu-tan, sleepy-eyed Turkmenis-tan and of course Afuganisu-tan - represented as a clumsy little girl who is trying ever so hard to stand up for herself in a very tough neighborhood. Agufanisu-tan has to deal with bullying from these older, stronger neighbours. Meriken is one of the more aggressive characters that enters the plot.

Manga is very popular, and it is one of the most powerfull mediums in Japan. Timaking used moe anthropomorphisms to explain the several sociopolitical issues.

“Moe anthropomorphism is a form of anthropomorphism where moe qualities are given to non-human beings, objects, concepts, or phenomena. In addition to moe features, moe anthropomorphisms are also characterized by their accessories, which serve to emphasize their original forms before anthropomorphosis.” (wikipedia)